Terry Borden
Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense
1880 E Morten Ave, Unit 235, Phoenix, AZ 85020
914-954-7873
[email protected]


I support this petition to add restorative justice options to Arizona judicial proceedings. This offers the chance for both offenders and victims to reach mutually agreed resolution of the harm in issue. It will also help reduce pressures on our overtaxed prison system.

Dianne Post
1826 E Willetta St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006-3047
602 271 9019
[email protected]
State Conference NAACP

When I was getting my BA in Correctional Administration, we were taught all about restorative justice by another name. Then and now research has shown over and over that rehabilitation including restorative justice principles works better than punishment in changing behavior, reducing recidivism, and making safer communities. Unfortunately, for the last 40 years, it has been more politically beneficial to focus on punishment that is discriminatory and has a criminogenic result and harms both offenders and victims, impoverishes families, and makes our communities less safe. We need to turn this ship around as the Kerner Commission told us in 1968. We need to do it now.

Patricia Borden, Director
Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws
PO Box 10551, Phoenix, AZ 85064
623-296-2904
[email protected]

Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws wholeheartedly supports this rule change petition. As the only nonprofit organization in Arizona empowering people living on the sexual offense registry and their loved ones through education, advocacy, and support, we know first-hand that our communities are no safer despite the imposition of harsher and harsher penalties by the current criminal justice system. On the other hand, Restorative Justice is a system that works - it honors the victims wishes while protecting the rights of victims and the accused alike. It also protects communities by preventing crime since the responsible person can be held accountable in ways which lower recidivism such as various treatment and educational opportunities as opposed to harsh prison sentences.

This is especially true for the 90% of sexual offenses which are committed by a loved one or someone close to the victim. In these cases, many victims are hesitant to report the abuse because they don’t want the person responsible to go to prison and may not even want them out of their life. And perpetrators are hesitant to seek treatment out of fear of the consequences. Therefore, no one is held accountable, and the offending may continue. Notably, a recent survey of 1500 victims of violent crime shows that 75% of those who report victimization ‘Prefer holding people accountable through options beyond prison, such as restorative justice, community service, and treatment for mental illness or substance use disorders ‘. [http://tinyurl.com/WhatVictimsWant]

Additionally, extensive research proves Restorative Justice keeps communities safer. For example, see Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast, Episode 9: Why Should I Care? (https://beyondfearpodcast.com/2020/09/09/why-should-i-care/) by Dr. Alisa Ackerman and Dr. Alexa Sardinia both of whom are experts on sex crime policy and restorative justice.

On behalf of our hundreds of participants and the over 14,000 people on Arizona’s sexual offense registry, we urge you to adopt this rule change petition because, by valuing the needs of stakeholders in the criminal justice process, Restorative Justice is an idea whose time has come. We would be happy to answer any questions or provide additional data. Thank you for your consideration.

I support this petition to add restorative justice options to Arizona judicial proceedings. This offers the chance for both offenders and victims to reach mutually agreed resolution of the harm in issue. It will also help reduce pressures on our overtaxed prison system, and help reduce costs for the State of Arizona.
Tom Burke
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 203-559-9504

PJ Boone-Edgerton Longni
The Tadini House
5025 S Ash Ave, #B-15
Tempe, AZ 85282
480-590-0919

I work with families whose loved one is facing a legal situation. I am a family member of children that have faced a serious legal situation. I feel that in most of the cases that I have been involved with that things can be resolved without having to put people away for long periods of time. We need an alternative to locking people up. Additionally, restorative justice principles will help young people -- we all make mistakes and this gives an opportunity to resolve issues without having to lock up our youth for things that if understood could be resolved in a more productive manner other than long years in prison or long years on probation.

Vicky Campo
2021 N. Richland St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006

I am a mother and grandmother, writing to support this rule change. Our reliance on mass incarceration is unsustainable, and we must find alternatives. Mass incarceration costs the U.S. $8 billion annually in lost GDP. It destroys families and harms our children. Restorative Justice provides healing and restoration, not punishment and trauma, for both victims and those who cause harm. As the parent of a victim of sexual harm, I know that the justice system is not a safe space for victims. Since 90% of sexual offenses are committed by someone known to the victim, crimes of a sexual nature often go unreported. Restorative Justice offers an option for healing and closure.

Gerald A. Williams
Arizona Bar No. 018947
North Valley Justice Court
14264 West Tierra Buena Lane
Surprise, AZ 85274

This comment is filed on behalf of the Justice of the Peace Bench in Maricopa County. We take no position on the merits of the proposed rule changes. Our only request is that, if adopted, they not become mandatory in every case with a potential victim, and that the proposed rule be changed to reflect that it applies only in Superior Court.

Russell Facente
Private Attorney
Arizona State Bar # 038673
[email protected]
(510)-393-5169

I am in favor of this rule change. Psychological studies show that victims are more likely to heal and move on from traumatic incidents through the types of emotional and psychological restitution and reconciliation provided by restorative justice principles than current sentencing available to courts (financial restitution and incarceration). The rule change grants more options for victims, has huge potential to save judicial and enforcement resources, and includes safeguards to assure dignity and voluntary participation by victims. Arizona prides itself on vesting decision making power in the people, both collectively and as individuals, and in protecting victims' rights from both perpetrator and the system; this rule change enhances the power of the individual without relinquishing the oversight power of the state.

Charlotte Hawken
121 Zuni Drive, Clarkdale, AZ 86234
928-821-1640
[email protected]

I support the petition as written.

As someone who was sexually assaulted by a stranger in Arizona thirty years ago, in a case that went to trial, I endured the harm of the assault and then the process of the criminal system.

I was dismayed at various aspects of the investigation and the court proceedings. For instance, both the investigator and the prosecutor took the statement of the first person I spoke to after the assault above my own statement of the incident. That meant that the description of the assailant was distorted so that the process of my review of suspect photos was confusing. Later that first person's assumptions, of what must have happened in order for there to have been an assault, skewed the story during the prosecutor's closing remarks.

Restorative justice is a way for victims to feel they have come out of the harm done and the legal process well.
It is not an easy way out for the perpetrator. Rather it is an additional mechanism of justice for the victim.

RACHEL MITCHELL
MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY
(FIRM STATE BAR NO. 00032000)

BLAINE GADOW
CHIEF DEPUTY
225 WEST MADISON STREET
PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85003
TELEPHONE: (602) 506-3800
(STATE BAR NUMBER 015741

R-24-0016

MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE COMMENT IN OPPOSITION

PETITION TO AMEND RULE 17.4 AND RULE 38 OF THE ARIZONA RULES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Joint Comment by Maricopa Public Defense Offices
620 W. Jackson, Suite 4015, Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 506-7711
[email protected]
AZ Bar #025997